In the lives of these people who worked so hard for a a living, weddings, funerals and christenings were very special and memorable events. Dressed in their best clothing and wearing white ribbons with flowers, the wedding party and friends would walk the bride and groom to the church, accompanied

a small orchestra. After the wedding Mass, the musicians would rejoin the group to lead them to one of the homes where music, wine and food would be found in abundance. In the early days of the church, a Greek Catholic priest was sometimes called to preside over the wedding rite for Slovak and Ukrainian couples of that faith.

FUNERALS

After a death, a family would hang a wreath with a velvet bow on their front door. Visitors would come to the house where the velvet covered coffin lay, to pray for the soul of the departed person. A horse-drawn carriage would carry

the coffin to the church for the funeral Mass and was followed by all family and friends and society members walking behind. The church oversaw Slovak language classes held with teacher Jan Gregor from Bratislava (who also became church organist), to assist second and third generation children preserve their language. With the onset of World War II, it became complicated to procure priests for the parish from Europe, so Bishop Dignan turned to the Slovak Benedictine Monastery in Cleveland to find someone for this Osada slovenska.